A 28-men contingent Bashundhara Kings departed Dhaka for Doha on Sunday morning to play their AFC Challenge League playoff against Syrian Premier League runners-up Al-Karamah SC.
Five-time Bangladesh Premier League champions at a stretch, Bashundhara Kings went Doha without enough preparation.
Bashundhara Kings who appeared as new sensation in the domestic football, lift dominated in the domestic soccer with winning Premier League title five time in a row leaving behind the traditional powerhouses.
But last season they struggled much, as finished the league third and parting ways with key players such as Robson Robinho and Miguel Ferreira.
Although the Kings managed to clinch the Federation Cup and the inaugural Challenge Cup, but their continental campaign ended in disappointment, finishing bottom of their AFC Challenge League group with no wins.
However, Kings assistant coach Mahbub Hossain Roxy when talking to the Bangladesh Post over phone just minutes before their plane take off, said that their Brazilian coach and some of the foreign players will join in Doha, Qatar.
Roxy said, “We have some national performers in the team and after joining Dorielton, Raphael, Samuel Tony, Emanuel Sunday we will have strong side.”
Roxy, former national player also said that they have no idea about Syrian team.
“Syrian team is unknown to us, we tried to watch match of Syria but could not find manage any footage,” Roxy said.
Now, they will play in the playoff stage with taking on Al-Karamah SC, a former AFC Champions League and AFC Cup runners-up from Syria.
Meanwhile, Abahani Limited also play the playoff stage with facing off Kyrgyz side Muras United in Dhaka on the same day in Dhaka.
However, the Kings' preparation for the crucial tie has been far from ideal. The team had only two weeks of training before heading to Qatar and will have just a single day to prepare on location before taking on the Syrian giants.
Some of the premier performer of Abahani also said they were going to Doha with inadequate preparation. If they had just a bit more time to train together, things could definitely have been better.
Even the head coach and several foreign recruits will only join the squad in Doha a day before the match. Kings have brought back Brazilian striker Dorielton Gomez and signed Rafael Augusto from Abahani, alongside Nigerian forwards Sunday Emmanuelle and Tony Emmanuelle from Mohammedan.
They will also be boosted by national team defender Tariq Kazi and England-based youngster Cuba Mitchell, with newly-appointed head coach Sergio Farias set to take charge of the team in Doha.
